---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Women are inherently told their bodies…"
description: "\"Women are inherently told their bodies are objects, so that's how we treat them.\" — Petra Collins"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/952/petra-collins-4546_how_women-are-inherently-told-their-bodies-a_1605664.jpg"
---

#  Women are inherently told their bodies are objects, so…

![“Women are inherently told their bodies are objects, so that's how we treat them.” quote by Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/952/petra-collins-4546_how_women-are-inherently-told-their-bodies-a_1605664.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/952/petra-collins-4546_how_women-are-inherently-told-their-bodies-a_1605664.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/952/petra-collins-4546_how_women-are-inherently-told-their-bodies-a_1605664.jpg)

> “Women are inherently told their bodies are objects, so that's how we treat them.”

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The statement argues that societal narratives teach women to view their bodies as objects, which then shapes how they are treated, highlighting systemic objectification.

**In simple terms:** Society teaches women their bodies are objects.

Key Takeaway

Challenge objectifying narratives.

Themes

gender society body image

Mood

hopeful critical

Type

social activist

When to use this quote

- media representation
- education
- policy making

Key Concepts

objectification cultural conditioning feminist critique

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we reshape societal narratives?
- What role does media play in objectification?

A Different Perspective

Changing deep‑rooted beliefs is difficult.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/)

## Related quotes

> [Women are not inherently passive or peaceful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-morgan/women-are-not-inherently-passive-or-peaceful/)

[Robin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-morgan/)

> [Men ought to become more conscious of their bodies as objects of delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/men-ought-to-become-more-conscious-of-their-bodies-as-objects-of/)

[Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/)

> [Cinematography speaks to everything that women do inherently well: It's multitasking, it's empathy, and it's channeling visuals into human emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-morrison/cinematography-speaks-to-everything-that-women-do-inherently-well-it/)

[Rachel Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-morrison/)

> [“These Nigerians have been raised to think of women as inherently guilty. And they have been raised to expect so little of men that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/these-nigerians-have-been-raised-to-think-of-women-as-inherently/)

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/)

> [“Above all else, our politics initially sprang from the shared belief that Black women are inherently valuable, that our liberation is a necessity not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keeanga-yamahtta-taylor/above-all-else-our-politics-initially-sprang-from-the-shared-belief/)

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

> [Women are not inherently passive or peaceful. We're not inherently anything but human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-morgan/women-are-not-inherently-passive-or-peaceful-we-re-not-inherently/)

[Robin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-morgan/)

> [First of all, women inherently, I think, are quite capable of having lots of balls in the air. And so, like, it's all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-mathews-burwell/first-of-all-women-inherently-i-think-are-quite-capable-of-having/)

[Sylvia Mathews Burwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-mathews-burwell/)

> [The early feminist argument that violence against women is not inherently a private matter, but has been privatized by the sexist structures of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/the-early-feminist-argument-that-violence-against-women-is-not/)

[Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/)

> [“Women are inherently crooked? Certainly some Muslim clerics think so—or at least, they do not believe in legal equality for women. Bangladeshi Islamic cleric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-spencer/women-are-inherently-crooked-certainly-some-muslim-clerics-think-so/)

[Robert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-spencer/)

> [Science is not inherently good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/science-is-not-inherently-good/)

[Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/)

> [I was just born involved in politics. My family is conservative Mormon, and so I was born - although the Mormon faith is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyrsten-sinema/i-was-just-born-involved-in-politics-my-family-is-conservative-mormon/)

[Kyrsten Sinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyrsten-sinema/)

> [It's all about being flexible, and avoiding choices whenever possible. Choices suck, they are inherently limiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-armstrong/it-s-all-about-being-flexible-and-avoiding-choices-whenever-possible/)

Craig Armstrong

> [I've actually always wanted to write like a one-person show that was sort of a romantic comedy - a show that was kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/i-ve-actually-always-wanted-to-write-like-a-one-person-show-that-was/)

[Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/)

> [Since the State necessarily lives by the compulsory confiscation of private capital, and since its expansion necessarily involves ever-greater incursions on private individuals and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/since-the-state-necessarily-lives-by-the-compulsory-confiscation-of/)

[Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/)

> [I think everyone's inherently sad because I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabby-windey/i-think-everyone-s-inherently-sad-because-i-am/)

[Gabby Windey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabby-windey/)

## More by Petra Collins

> [Success doesn't happen overnight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/success-doesn-t-happen-overnight/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [When you see stories about women that aren't being told by women, it can make you feel like you don't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/when-you-see-stories-about-women-that-aren-t-being-told-by-women-it/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [With social media and all the new technology, there's just more interfaces around and reminders to constantly be working on our body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/with-social-media-and-all-the-new-technology-there-s-just-more/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [Just being with a group of girls and experiencing sadness together - it's a pretty powerful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/just-being-with-a-group-of-girls-and-experiencing-sadness-together-it/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [I remember being 12 or 13 and reading 'Seventeen' and 'CosmoGirl.' They were all about self-improvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/i-remember-being-12-or-13-and-reading-seventeen-and-cosmogirl-they/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [I'm used to seeing women being degraded, slut shamed, harassed for what they look like. Even the most powerful women in the world are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/i-m-used-to-seeing-women-being-degraded-slut-shamed-harassed-for-what/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [My mom had been a script supervisor in Hungary, but you can't just jump into that in Canada without knowing any English. She worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/my-mom-had-been-a-script-supervisor-in-hungary-but-you-can-t-just/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [I started out taking photos of my friends on, like, disposable cameras, and I documented my younger sister and her friends all through high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/i-started-out-taking-photos-of-my-friends-on-like-disposable-cameras/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [There's definitely a romanticism of youth, like, everywhere. Specifically with women, they kind of only exist between the age of 15 to 25.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/there-s-definitely-a-romanticism-of-youth-like-everywhere/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [Hashtag activism is a catalyst, but things have to actually happen in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/hashtag-activism-is-a-catalyst-but-things-have-to-actually-happen-in/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [Social media has been such a big important thing for young artists and minorities because it's a community to get noticed. It's having an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/social-media-has-been-such-a-big-important-thing-for-young-artists/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [I'm either working or I'm lying in bed the entire day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/i-m-either-working-or-i-m-lying-in-bed-the-entire-day/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [The selfie is a powerful tool, but it can also be dangerous, and I am fascinated with the process of it because there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/the-selfie-is-a-powerful-tool-but-it-can-also-be-dangerous-and-i-am/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [I look for subjects who have stories to tell - who are looking to tell something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/i-look-for-subjects-who-have-stories-to-tell-who-are-looking-to-tell/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

> [It's so important for women to create images of women - or any group, at that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/it-s-so-important-for-women-to-create-images-of-women-or-any-group-at/)

[Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

[Explore all 109 Petra Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/)

## More Bodies quotes

> [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

> [Seriously, why don't straight men have bodies like this?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-hobbes/seriously-why-don-t-straight-men-have-bodies-like-this/)

[Miranda Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-hobbes/)

> [Close contact between science and the practice of collective farms and State farms creates inexhaustible opportunities for the development of theoretical knowledge, enabling us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trofim-lysenko/close-contact-between-science-and-the-practice-of-collective-farms/)

[Trofim Lysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trofim-lysenko/)

> [I personally don't have a problem with naked bodies on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-anne-down/i-personally-don-t-have-a-problem-with-naked-bodies-on-television/)

[Lesley-Anne Down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-anne-down/)

> [The eye— it cannot choose but see; we cannot bid the ear be still; our bodies feel, where'er they be, against or with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-eye-it-cannot-choose-but-see-we-cannot-bid-the-ear-be-still-our/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [“Time erodes us all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/time-erodes-us-all/)

[Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/)

> [“Discrimination is not just racial now. It’s also about the kind of body parts you have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yudhanjaya-wijeratne/discrimination-is-not-just-racial-now-it-s-also-about-the-kind-of/)

[Yudhanjaya Wijeratne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yudhanjaya-wijeratne/)

> [I would be a traitor to these poor burned bodies if I came here to talk good fellowship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-schneiderman/i-would-be-a-traitor-to-these-poor-burned-bodies-if-i-came-here-to/)

[Rose Schneiderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-schneiderman/)

> [“When bodies talk, a hand brushing across a face declares love the tongue never speaks. When bodies talk, eyes make promises and lips keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-payton/when-bodies-talk-a-hand-brushing-across-a-face-declares-love-the/)

[Stella Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-payton/)

> [“Dead bodies. Dead bodies. Lots of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-field/dead-bodies-dead-bodies-lots-of-them/)

[Elle Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-field/)

> [“One will in two minds, one heart in two bodies, and two bodies in one flesh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pettie/one-will-in-two-minds-one-heart-in-two-bodies-and-two-bodies-in-one/)

George Pettie

> [Angels do not have bodies in the traditional sense, but they have etheric forms that we can feel. Most of us are feeling the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/angels-do-not-have-bodies-in-the-traditional-sense-but-they-have/)

[Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/)

> [Either there are no corporeal substances, and bodies are merely phenomena which are true or consistent with each other, such as a rainbow or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/either-there-are-no-corporeal-substances-and-bodies-are-merely/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [“these hips are big hips. they need space to move around in. they don't fit into little petty places.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/these-hips-are-big-hips-they-need-space-to-move-around-in-they-don-t/)

[Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/)

> [Our bodies are molded rivers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/our-bodies-are-molded-rivers/)

[Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/)

Browse all 496 Bodies quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Women are inherently told their bodies are objects, so that's how we treat them.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Petra Collins"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/women-are-inherently-told-their-bodies-are-objects-so-that-s-how-we/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bodies"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/women-are-inherently-told-their-bodies-are-objects-so-that-s-how-we/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/952/petra-collins-4546_how_women-are-inherently-told-their-bodies-a_1605664.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/952/petra-collins-4546_how_women-are-inherently-told-their-bodies-a_1605664.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/952/petra-collins-4546_how_women-are-inherently-told-their-bodies-a_1605664.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Women are inherently told their bodies are objects, so that's how we treat them.” — Petra Collins",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Petra Collins",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Women are inherently told their bodies...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/women-are-inherently-told-their-bodies-are-objects-so-that-s-how-we/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/women-are-inherently-told-their-bodies-are-objects-so-that-s-how-we/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
